Repointing, overhauling rainwater goods, removing render, repairing and replacing windows….while enhancing the appearance of the buildings, the main purpose of all of these works is to improve the fabric of the building and ensure that that will last for another two hundred years. Replacing the shopfronts, however, is a change that is almost solely for the purpose of improving the way the building looks and forms a large part of the Townscape Heritage Initiative.

A Brief History of Shopfronts

Evolved from market stalls, the earliest shopfronts would have been an opening at the front of a workshop, with a piece of wood that would fold out to create something of a counter and could be replaced when the business was closed. Over time, the ‘counter’ became a more permanent sill, typically of stone and, eventually, the opening would have been enclosed with glass. As glass manufacturing processes at the time were less advanced, the panes would have been small, allowing light into the shop, but not necessarily providing a place for goods to be displayed. As glass making technology improved, larger and larger panes could be produced and the shop window, as we know it, came into being.

With further developments utilising metal, plastics and an increasing desire for light up signs, many of the wooden shopfronts were removed in the latter half of the twentieth century, leaving a lot of historic buildings with inappropriate frontages.

A Return to the Traditional

 We have been very fortunate in Gainsborough in that we have a wealth of historic images of the town centre, which means we know exactly what sort of shopfronts the majority of the buildings being developed under the scheme once had. While the aim isn’t to replicate exactly what used to be there, we have been able to take inspiration from the images when new shopfronts are designed.

5-7 Market Place – The Fabric Place

The design of the new shopfront at 5-7 Market Place makes reference to historic reference images – especially the details found on the mullions (vertical bars that divide the windows) and the cornice at the top of the pillars to the side of the shopfront.

5 Silver Street – LincIT

Though the layout of the shopfront for 5 Silver Street has changed accommodate the current needs of the property, the design has drawn upon historic images – particularly the shape of the mullions, and the curved fascia which will be hand painted to show the name of the business.

Old Town Hall – Alfie’s

The shopfronts on the Market Place elevation of the Old Town Hall only date to the early 1990s – as such, there is no historic detailing to draw upon. The new shopfronts have, therefore, been designed to be sympathetic to the heritage properties that surround them, while retaining a slightly more modern feel. We can’t wait to see the rest in place!